We were engaged as not for profit consultants on this small local project based upon our butterfly and conservation management skills. The site consists of a fenced quadrangle with a largish water feature in the form of a butyl lined pond that had taken a summer battering and was almost empty. The two sides of council maintained metal fencing facing a children's playground was denied a thorn planted hedge along its length by health and safety considerations, so another solution was needed to make a heat sink or crucible of the central area of grass - so as to encourage breeding brown butterflies, such as the newly arrived to the area marbled whites. These grass breeders would occupy the periphery and plants on which blue butterflies might breed, such as rock rose and birds foot trefoil would occupy the centre. This 'kettling' effect we considered would be enhanced by removing soil and debris from the pond area to create a low embankment next to the fence where tall plants, such as hemp agrimony and golden rod could be planted, providing valuable nectar for the later emerging butterflies. The far side of the quadrangle presented different challenges and we decided to extend the buckthorn hedge bordering the entire Western edge of the area beyond the little reserve into and across the back of the pond, so providing valuable cover for nesting birds - long tailed tits, black caps, hedge accentors, blackbirds, etc., and also a foodplant on which brown hairstreak larvae might feed during spring, with wintering birds such as the redwing, coming in for the berries later. The water feature was in hand, with plans for a more durable lining and a run off arrangement to store rainfall. Non natives were to be eliminated and replaced with typical berry stock and willows.
